LARKANA, June 9: Speakers at a seminar, held here on Sunday under the auspices of the Hari Abaadgar Samajee Bhallee Tanzeem, in coordination with the Hari Ittehad Force, on the subject of Causes Of The Devastation Of Agriculture Land In Sindh called for a permanent solution to the water dispute between Sindh and Punjab through an impartial forum.

Sardar Zaffar Hussain Sangi, President of the Sindh Rural Reconstruction Organization, chaired the session.

The speakers, including Abdul Latif Bughio, Deedar Abbasi, Sadoro Abbasi and Apa Panah Khatoon, pointed out that in Thatta and Badin districts alone, 10.25 million acres of fertile land had been rendered baron due to sea erosion. The erosion, they added, had been caused by not leaving water in a mandatory quantity down streak Kotri.

They said around two million acres of land alongside the River Indus in katcha had been ruined within a period of six years. The dangerous situation had not only hit the agriculture but also traumatized the under-water life, they added.

They alleged that Punjab had never been sincere in implementing the 1991 water accord.

They recalled that Punjab had been forcibly filling Mangla Dam in the months of March and April while Sindh was experiencing 50 per cent shortage and its Kharif crop was badly damaged.

Giving the historical background of the dispute, Abdul Latif Bughio said that it was 1843 and 1847 when English rulers conquered Sindh and Punjab and the issue of water distribution was raised. Witnessing the mounting unrest in 1901, the rulers constituted India Irrigation Commission.

In 1919 and 1923, Punjab attempted to get an approval for the construction of greater Thal canal but the then viceroy, Lord Whelms Ford, and Lord Reading rejected the proposal on the grounds that the people at the tail-end had first right on water.

The speakers were of the view that in an open violation of the accord, Punjab was flowing Chashma-Jehlum and Taunsa link canals and trampling over the sentiments of Sindh people, it was going ahead with the Thal canal construction.

They urged NGOs and Sindh haris to forcefully plead the case jointly.

The Sindh Solidarity Council has decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court for the righteous share in irrigation water for Sindh, Abdul Latif Bughio disclosed and said Abdul Hafeez Pirzado was busy preparing the case.

If rejected, he said, the matter would be taken to the International Court of Justice.